The Gyan Bharatam Mission will be launched for survey, documentation and conservation of manuscript heritage with academic institutions, museums, libraries and private collectors to cover more than 1 crore manuscripts
Hyderabad: The Union Budget 2025 made some generous announcements for the research sector, primarily focusing on science and technology and conservation of documental heritage. Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced energy building capacities through Nuclear Energy Mission, which includes development of small modular reactors (SMR), to be set up with an outlay of Rs.20,000 crore.
About the same amount was promised for driving research in the private sector. Around 10,000 research fellowships will be provided in the next five years, under the PM Research Fellowship scheme, for technological research in IITs and IISc with enhanced financial support.
To boost food and nutritional security, a gene bank with 10 lakh germplasm lines will be set up. The government will also establish the National Geospatial Mission, with the aim to develop foundational geospatial infrastructure and data.
The Gyan Bharatam Mission will be launched for survey, documentation and conservation of manuscript heritage with academic institutions, museums, libraries and private collectors to cover more than 1 crore manuscripts. A National Digital Repository of Indian knowledge systems will be set up for knowledge sharing.
"The announcement of the National Geospatial Mission is a significant step toward leveraging geospatial technologies for infrastructure development, urban planning, and land management. As an architect, I can assure that this initiative holds promising implications like enhanced urban planning, better zoning and land-use planning and reducing conflicts in development," said S.P. Anchuri, architect and chairman, Forum for Critical Utility Services (FOCUS).
He added that it will be difficult to align ongoing projects with new geospatial standards. "Even though India still relies on foreign satellites, National Geospatial Mission has immense potential, hoping that overcomes technical, financial, legal, and adoption challenges. Investment in digital infrastructure, training programmes, legal reforms, and inter-agency coordination is required to make it work on ground," Anchuri added.
Sajjan Singh from Sikh Heritage Foundation working on preserving Sikh documents and artefacts, welcomed the government's initiative to preserve heritage documents and manuscripts. "It is a much needed move to preserve our heritage. It is extremely difficult to find material for conservation work. Certain chemicals are not easily accessible to the conservators even in Hyderabad. We have to look for them in other major cities like Delhi or Pune. It would be beneficial if those materials are also made available easily," he said.
